San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Zoo Closes Aviaries After Hawk Tests Positive For Bird Flu
The San Francisco Zoo temporarily closed its aviaries after a wild red-shouldered hawk tested positive for avian influenza. (Vaziri, 12/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Is At Center Of Bird Flu Rise. Should We Be Worried?
The Golden State is the latest epicenter of new infections in cattle and people, with more than 70% of cumulative cases in cattle and 32 of the 58 confirmed cases in people since 2023 — though that may just be because California is the nation’s largest dairy-producing state with more cattle herds and more points of contact with dairy workers. (Ho, 12/12)

CIDRAP: Avian Flu Suspected In California Cats That Drank Raw Milk As Virus Kills Animals At Arizona Zoo 
The Los Angeles County Department of Health today announced that it is investigating two suspected avian flu illnesses in indoor pet cats that drank recalled raw milk, fueling more concerns about wider spread in other animals, which includes zoo animals infected in Arizona's Maricopa County. Also today, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed several more outbreaks in dairy cattle in California and in poultry flocks in three states. And two states reported rises in wild-bird detections. (Schnirring, 12/12)

NBC News: UCLA Student Sues California Doctors, Says She Was 'Fast-Tracked' Into Transgender Surgery
A UCLA student is suing multiple California health care providers and hospitals for medical negligence, alleging she was wrongly diagnosed with gender dysphoria and then “fast-tracked onto the conveyor belt of irreversibly damaging” puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery, according to her lawsuit. (Schwanemann, 12/12)

Voice of OC: Thousands Of OC Kids Struggle With Homelessness, Hunger And Mental Health Issues
The number of kids that local school districts in Orange County deemed as homeless and the number of children eligible for free lunches – a longtime indicator of poverty – has gone up again for a second year in a row, according to a new county report. The yearly assessment put together by groups like the OC Social Service Agency, OC Health Care Agency and First 5 – a government agency that focuses on child health and development – shows that mental health issues like depression are on the rise with OC kids and teenagers. (Elattar, 12/11)

Becker's Hospital Review: Growth, Integration And Affordability: Sutter Health COO Looks To 2025
Moving into 2025, Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is focusing on deploying growth and integration strategies to tackle financial challenges, as well as on boosting workforce connections, Mark Sevco, senior vice president and COO, told Becker's. Mr. Sevco discussed these strategies in detail and why they are important to the future of the 22-hospital health system. (Gooch, 12/12)

MedPage Today: MedPAC Members Supportive Of Upping Medicare Pay Rates Close To The Inflation Rate 
Members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) seemed favorable Thursday to a proposed recommendation to Congress that Medicare should pay physicians based on the rate of medical inflation and give primary care doctors who serve low-income beneficiaries an extra pay bump. "I think the chair's recommendation is directionally correct," said commission member Cheryl Damberg, PhD, MPH, of the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California. (Frieden, 12/12)

San Francisco Public Press: Destroyed Records, Dying Witnesses Consign San Francisco Radiation Lab to Obscurity
After running the world’s first doctoral program in radiation biology, James Newell Stannard spent his retirement researching “Radioactivity and Health: A History.” The exhaustive record of the field’s early days, published in 1988, mentions some of the work done at a U.S. Navy radiation lab headquartered in San Francisco. Some but not all, because the paper trail was incomplete. When the Navy closed the lab in 1969, “they threw out nearly all records, and there is nowhere, at least so far as I can find, one complete set of Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory reports!” Stannard said in a 1979 interview. (Roberts, 12/12)

Axios: Trump Commits To Protecting Abortion Pill Access
President-elect Trump told Time magazine he will ensure the FDA will not block access to abortion pills on his watch, the first time he has made such a commitment. Medication abortions account for nearly two-thirds of all abortions nationwide. Anti-abortion groups and some Trump allies see limiting access to abortion pill mifepristone as a top priority in the new term — but, for now at least, Trump does not. (Lawler and Bettelheim, 12/12)

CNN: Hardline Activist Who Raised The Idea Of Jailing Women For Abortions Gets Top Policy Job In Trump Administration 
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Ed Martin, a hardline, socially conservative activist and commentator, to serve as the next chief of staff at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As CNN first reported in July, Martin has publicly advocated for a national abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest and has raised imposing criminal penalties on women and doctors involved in abortions. ... The OMB plays a key role in shaping the president’s economic and legislative agenda by reviewing funding proposals and ensuring they align with the administration’s policy priorities. Martin’s role at OMB could have a potential impact on how federal funds are allocated for programs related to women’s health or reproductive rights. (Kaczynski and Steck, 12/12)

The New York Times: RFK Jr.’s Lawyer Has Asked The FDA To Revoke Polio Vaccine Approval 
The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death. That campaign is just one front in the war that the lawyer, Aaron Siri, is waging against vaccines of all kinds. (Jewett and Stolberg, 12/13)

Salon: "It Will Cost Lives": Trump Says He'll Talk With RFK Jr. About Discouraging Childhood Vaccines
In an interview with TIME Magazine published Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump said that he would discuss ending child vaccination programs with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist he has nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Asked if he would approve of any decision by Kennedy to end vaccination programs — insofar as he has that power, which is largely delegated to the states — Trump cited autism as a reason why he might. "We're going to have a big discussion," he said. "The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there's something causing it." His administration would get rid of some vaccinations if "I think it's dangerous, if I think they are not beneficial," Trump added. (Lu, 12/12)

The New York Times: Six Childhood Scourges We’ve Forgotten About, Thanks To Vaccines
Some of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s picks for the government’s top health posts have expressed skepticism about the safety of childhood vaccines. It’s a sentiment shared by a growing number of parents, who are choosing to skip recommended shots for their children. But while everyone seems to be talking about the potential side effects of vaccines, few are discussing the diseases they prevent. (Baumgaertner, 12/13)

Time: Donald Trump's 2024 Person Of The Year Interview Transcript
President-elect Donald Trump, TIME’s 2024 Person of the Year, sat down for a wide-ranging interview at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 25. Over the course of the interview, Trump discussed his election victory, the economy, and the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East. He also spoke about his plans for a second term, including deporting millions of migrants and pardoning Jan. 6 defendants, as well as the future of the MAGA movement. (12/12)

The War Horse: Sexual Assault Survivors Speak On Military's Future Under Trump
As the military continues to grapple with its past treatment of female members and considers its future leadership under President Donald Trump, [survivors, advocates, and allies] voices are critical. But having a say isn’t part of the deal when you’re in the military. Service members are restricted in how they can weigh into a debate now roiling Washington over the nomination of Pete Hegseth as the nation’s next Secretary of Defense. He is defending himself from allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive alcohol use. (Kehrt, 12/13)

Politico: Hegseth Walks Back Controversial Comments On Women And Gays In The Military
Pete Hegseth softened his stance against women in combat and gays in the military after he previously suggested they shouldn’t fill those roles. His evolving rhetoric — which came after meetings with more moderate senators — signals an effort to soothe lingering concerns his leadership might cause upheaval to a diverse, modern military. It could also serve as a guide for Trump’s other would-be nominees who face headwinds in their confirmations. (Gould and O'Brien, 12/13)

Politico: Congress Nears Deal On Disaster Aid, Funding Patch To Avert Pre-Christmas Shutdown 
Congressional leaders are closing in on a deal to fund the government into early next year, along with tens of billions of dollars in disaster aid, as they work to avoid a holiday shutdown. The burgeoning agreement comes after weeks of House and Senate leadership negotiations, which included top appropriators, ahead of the Dec. 20 deadline. Text of the funding bill is expected over the weekend or early next week to allow both chambers to pass the measure before lawmakers leave town until January. (Carney and Scholtes, 12/12)

The Hill: House Republicans Launch Investigation Into CVS Caremark For Potential Antitrust Violations
House Republicans want to know whether pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) CVS Caremark violated federal antitrust laws by threatening independent pharmacies to keep them from using money-saving tools outside the PBM’s network. In a letter to CVS obtained by The Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) asked the company for documents and communications about pharmaceutical hubs, a type of digital pharmacy service that can streamline the process of accessing and managing complex, high-cost specialty medications for patients. (Weixel, 12/12)

MedPage Today: Should Hospitals Be Paid The Same As Doctors' Offices For The Same Service? 
The idea of requiring site-neutral payments in Medicare -- in which providers would be reimbursed at the same rate for performing the same service, regardless of where it's performed -- appears to be gaining steam on Capitol Hill. "We are decreasing the out-of-pocket expense for someone receiving the exact same care at the same doctor's office with the same equipment and the same nurse" in cases where the cost of the service increased after the hospital bought the doctor's practice, Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), said Wednesday at a site-neutral payment event sponsored by Politico and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Cassidy, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee, was referring to a bill which he and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) are developing. (Frieden, 12/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: Sources: San Francisco Police Identified Luigi Mangione 4 Days Before Arrest In McDonald’s
The San Francisco officer who made the identification had been familiar with Luigi Mangione’s face because the 26-year-old man had been reported missing to San Francisco police in mid-November. The Special Victims Unit, which had been investigating the missing person’s case, reported his identity to the FBI, the sources said. ... The revelation that a police officer was able to recognize Mangione after viewing the surveillance images raises questions about whether any of Mangione’s many friends, relatives, past co-workers and former classmates did the same. (Cassidy and Barba, 12/12)

Bloomberg: Suspect In UnitedHealth Leader’s Killing Wasn’t A Customer
The suspect charged in the killing of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson wasn’t a member of its insurance plans, a company spokesperson said. Neither Luigi Mangione nor his mother were UnitedHealthcare members, the company said, dispelling the idea that the alleged shooting was motivated by a grievance from his personal experience with the nation’s largest health insurer. (Tozzi, 12/12)

NPR: UHC Murder Suspect Railed About U.S. Health Care. Here's What He Missed
It's true that U.S. health care is uniquely costly and often frustrating, but experts say the reasons our life expectancy trails many comparable nations are complex. While problems with health care access cause suffering, health care is not the main factor behind poor life expectancy, says Dr. Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University. (Simmons-Duffin, 12/12)

The New York Times: When a Glock Isn’t a Glock: The History of the Pistol Found With Luigi Mangione
At first glance, the gun in the police photographs — the one the authorities believe Luigi Mangione used to kill the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare — appears to be a Glock-19, a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol used by military forces, police officers, civilians and criminals all over the world. But upon closer inspection, it is clear that the weapon was not factory-made, but was at least partially produced by a 3D printer. The giveaways are subtle: The Glock logo is absent from the pistol’s grip, where it would ordinarily be imprinted, and the angle of the grip is peculiar. Indentations on the grip, known as stippling, are patterned in such a way that the gun’s “fingerprint” can be directly linked to a unique free-to-download 3D-printed design known as the FMDA 19.2 Chairmanwon Remix. (Gibbons-Neff and Toler, 12/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bird Flu Is Here: We Need Health Officials Pushing Vaccines Not Raw Milk
We need human vaccines for bird flu at scale as soon as possible. The worst thing we could do is hand the reins over to someone who would block this process. (Jennifer Molidor, 12/9)

San Diego Union-Tribune: California Needs To Change Its Approach Towards Food Insecurity. Here’s How. 
Everyday, one in five people in California face food insecurity, meaning millions cannot afford their next meal and millions more cannot access nutritious food because of systemic barriers in their communities. (Ben Ali H Brown, 12/11)

Fresno Bee: Fresno Democrat Wants Leadership Role To Protect Food Assistance In Farm Bill
“I always say that food is a national security issue,” Costa told The Fresno Bee Editorial Board this week. “The Farm Bill ... is a safety net for almost 47 million Americans who are food insecure.” (12/12)

East Bay Times: Santa Clara County Must Address Racial Inequities In Health
For decades, the varying health outcomes of different racial and ethnic populations in Santa Clara County flew under most people’s radar. The absence of useful and specific data conspired to conceal this fact. (Christine Tomcala, Yvonne Maxwell, and Dolores Alvarado, 12/9)

Los Angeles Times: It's Past Time To Let Venice Dell Homeless Housing Be Built
In Los Angeles, a city desperate for homeless housing, one project that will fill some of that need has been unconscionably delayed for years. The City Council has already approved it twice, most recently two years ago. This week, city officials have a chance to show they are serious about getting that project built. (12/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: Concussions Don’t Just Happen On Sports Fields Or With Athletes
A staggering 3.8 million concussions occur each year in the U.S. from sports-related injuries with up to 50% of concussions going unreported. Approximately 5% to 10% of athletes will experience a concussion in any given sports season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These alarming numbers underscore the importance of understanding the consequences of concussions and traumatic brain injuries. (Sarah Goody, 12/9)